Anybody who has been keeping up with the news in Northern Ireland over the last few weeks would probably be inclined to say yes. With the Sinn Fein leader walking behind a xenophobic and anti-British banner in New York, people in a bar singing about their hatred of Roman Catholics, people in another bar chanting “up the Ra”, sectarian attacks against the Protestant community in Claudy, Co. Londonderry, and the disgraceful vandalism of a Protestant Church in Newry, Co. Down.
Reconciliation looks like it is far away as it ever was, especially if one looks at the attitude of certain people on social media; Irish republicans especially. For whilst Sinn Fein, the SDLP and other nationalist/republican groups like to present themselves as rational, reasonable, non-sectarian and intelligent, there are many Irish nationalists and republicans who do not attempt to hide their hatred and contempt for Loyalism, Unionism, the United Kingdom and anything that they perceive as being ‘other’.
The purpose of this blog post is to shine a spotlight onto the attitudes and opinions of some of those people. People who will never accept anything which is not Irish, Catholic and ‘gaelic’. People who use social media in the same way a pitbull uses it’s teeth and jaws. People who revel in the sectarian slaughter visited on the people of Ulster by republican murder gangs.
Unfortunately, we have hundreds of examples of the bitterness and hatred of such people. We ask you to read their vile comments and their idiotic rants and to ask yourself- is reconciliation really possible?
Of course there are bigots on both sides of the divide. Of course the people featured in this article do not represent all Irish republicans. However, they do represent a large section of that constituency. In all honesty, we rarely see naked sectarianism from Loyalists and Unionists online. We rarely encounter the kind of 19th century style racism that is so often demonstrated by Irish supremacists.
Perhaps we do not see it because we are not looking for it, or perhaps we do not see it because it is much less prevalent than the kind of hatred and vitriol one encounters from republicans on a daily (sometimes hourly) basis.
Please take the time to look at all of these images; imagine the sort of venom and bitterness that a person must feel within themselves to actually articulate this type of intolerance, xenophobia and hate. Then ask yourself if there is any hope for real, sincere, reconciliation and the resolution of legacy issues in Northern Ireland.
Can unreconstructed Irish republican bigots like these ever become valuable (and valued) members of a secular, democratic and pluralist society?
There is no place in the ‘new’ Northern Ireland for their toxic, narrow nationalism. There is no place in the 21st century for this sort of bigotry, sectarianism, racism and dehumanisation. If such people cannot, or will not, let go of their own toxic prejudice, then they must be left behind to wallow in their hatred in their own little vile, miserable echo-chamber.
It is interesting to note the exceedingly low level of education many of these people seem to have attained.
Interesting to see Irish supremacists use a term such as “mudderland” (sic), a term which neo-Nazis/white supremacists use to refer to the continent of Africa.
Another example of this kind of racist language being used by republicans is the use of the term “slurry skinned” which Ladfleg (South Belfast SF) use continually to refer to Belfast City councillor Ruth Patterson.
Another Irish republican/neo-Nazi ‘crossover’. A modified meme, depicting Celtic FC manager with a rifle and wearing military style uniform, which was originally a neo-Nazi/antisemitic meme widely used by the so-called ‘altright’.
Homophobic insults and breathtaking ignorance all in one tweet. Scarcely believable that such crass stupidity still exists in the 21st century.
Unfortunately this kind of abuse is all too common. Victims of Irish republican terrorism seem to attract more of this sort of poisonous bigotry than others. Perhaps republicans feel threatened by those who speak out on behalf of their murdered family members?
Usually republicans attempt to mask their ethno-religious bigotry by using derogatory terms like “immigrant”, “hun” or “planter” but sometimes their rage and bitterness gets the better of them and they revert to the type of language online that they generally only use at home, in pubs etc
This is the kind of dehumanising rhetoric used by Irish supremacist bigots. They dismiss the Protestant community as “stupid”, “uneducated” and even use the term “underprivileged” as an insult, ignoring the fact that they are unwittingly admitting that the ‘PUL’ community suffers social exclusion, deprivation and discrimination.
For some reason many republicans on social media deny being republicans. Despite the fact that their political opinion is obvious (Easter lily avatar etc)
(For the record, we have never murdered or raped anyone)
The irony of someone with a Liver bird, emblem of the city of Liverpool and of Liverpool FC, tweeting this kind of anti-British racism is apparently lost on Irish republicans.
More homophobic ranting, this time from a republican ‘parody’ account. There are at least a dozen of such accounts. None of which engage in any kind of satire or even any attempt at humour, instead using obscenity and school yard insults to attack Loyalist and Unionist elected representatives, victims of terrorism etc. The most notorious of these ‘parody’ accounts being Ladfleg, which is now (more or less) completely controlled by Sinn Fein.
Often, tweets by Irish republican extremists are almost unintelligible.
The use of the word “evil” and the comparing of Unionism to a “disease” or even to “cancer” is particularly curious. This would suggest a quasi religious aspect to the bigotry of such people.
The twitter user above is a favourite of Ladfleg and seems to comment on almost all of their tweets. It has been suggested that the account actually belongs to one of the people behind the Ladfleg account, who uses the @Cobblerz37 account to vent his spleen and say what he really thinks about Protestants.
More homophobic remarks and glorification of the “RA” (presumably the Provisional IRA?)
Outright genocidal rhetoric from someone who wished to see the Loyalist/Unionist community “exterminated”. Stalin, Mao, Hitler and Pol Pot would be proud!
This is a new low, even for @corkyhere, a well known republican oaf who uses someone else’s picture for his avatar.
Shinnerbots are usually blatantly obvious. No avatar, an obviously fake/bot generated username, fewer than a dozen followers etc etc
The disgusting fascism of Irish republicans. The last Queen of Éire here telling another twitter user what their future will be and engaging in inflammatory racist language that would make Andrew Anglin blush!
@Irish_Ulster is a compulsive liar who, it has been suggested to us by a reliable source, has serious mental health issues. She is neither Irish nor male but is in fact a woman from the North-Eastern United States.
More dehumanising rhetoric from the usual suspects.
More homophobic insults, this time suggesting that Jamie Bryson has HIV/AIDS.
Ladfleg like to propagate the old PIRA/Sinn Fein myth that the UDR was merely a Loyalist paramilitary group in uniform. Ignoring the sacrifice of many Catholic UDR men murdered by Irish republican terrorists.
A rare admission that many Irish republicans support republican gangs involvement in the illegal drugs trade.
Comparing Loyalists and Unionists to rats is another staple of Irish supremacists.
“evil”
Note that Ladfleg have never censured @cobblerz37, taken him to task for his overtly sectarian (and frankly deranged) replies to their tweets or even suggested he show some constraint.
I have no idea what the above even means.
The irony of that tweet (sent from Walthamstow, London)
Elaine believes the recent sectarian graffiti that was daubed across Claudy was done by fairies.
So, is reconciliation possible? From where I sit I’m sorry to say I don’t know anymore!
